


I love you from hell to heaven, and everything in between

by GodsHumbleClown



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Crohns Disease, F/M, Family, Future, M/M, Modern AU, Sarah is a vet, Time Jump, crohn's disease, life is good, mostly just fluff, slight mentions of homophobia but not really, spot and race are cute and domestic, there is a bunny, they are great dads, theyre so in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:22:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24973786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GodsHumbleClown/pseuds/GodsHumbleClown
Summary: Somebody suggested I do a one-shot to when Spot and Race and everybody are in their thirties, so here it is!(Companion to "Still Hell, but whatever" and "There's birds everywhere...this is hell")I guess hell is gonna be a theme in these titles.If you have any suggestions for more things for me to write, whether in this series or something different, please let me know, either in the comments or on tumblr @maggs-posts-trash
Relationships: Bryan Denton/Hannah, David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Comments: 9
Kudos: 68
Collections: Take These Broken Wings





	I love you from hell to heaven, and everything in between

Spot rushed down the street towards the schoolbus stop. Some idiot who thought his stupid car was more important than the mechanics getting to go home on time had held him up at work, and now he was running late. 

The idiot hadn't made an  _ appointment _ and it wasn't even an emergency, so he could shove it. Luckily, Spot was basically self employed, so he could (and did) say "shove it" without any consequence. 

Spot checked his watch for the infinity-th time as he ran. The girls would be getting home from school any minute now, and Spot wanted to be there to wait for them.

He was  _ always _ there when they got home, no matter what. 

Spot was determined that his kids would  _ never _ come home to an empty house. That did mean Spot taking a page from Sarah's book of driving occasionally in order to get home on time, but it was worth it. 

His girls would never feel like they didn't have anyone there for them. Never. 

Spot skidded to a stop just as the big yellow bus pulled up at the corner. 

He waved to the driver, Mr. Turner, who scowled in response. Mr. Turner was an older man who always scowled at him and Racetrack when they were together, so Racetrack and Spot fought back by being insanely friendly. 

Spot was really more in favor of slashing his tires, but Racer reminded him that it would interfere with their daughters' education if they were to miss school because the bus was out of commission. 

Caroline hopped out of the door, her short blonde hair rumpled and messy from a day no doubt filled with adventures. 

She was nearly eight, and already had quite the knack for finding entertainment and trouble wherever she happened to be. 

Six year old Ava climbed out more carefully, holding the guard rail and turning to say goodbye to Mr. Turner. The sour old man softened for just a moment, giving the little girl a rare smile before closing the door to drive off. 

Caroline flew into Spot's arms. 

"Daddy! Guess what?" He swung the little ball of energy onto his back with a smile as she chattered. 

"A firefighter came to school today to talk about safety!" 

Ava proudly showed him her notebook. 

"He gave my class stickers!"

Spot lifted Ava up in his arms.

"Did he have a firetruck?" Spot asked, heaving Caroline onto his shoulders. A child in front and a child in back, they headed off down the block. 

Ava laughed. "Daddy, all you care about is cars!" 

Spot smiled. "I care about more than that," he argued. "I care about Babbo, and I care about you, and Caroline, and Misty and Stormy," he stopped to breathe and was interrupted by his older daughter squealing with happiness. 

"Daddy, look! Denty and Hanny are here!" 

Bryan and Hannah Denton were not typical grandparents, so it was fitting that they wouldn't have typical grandparent titles. 

Spot didn't think he would ever have a mother again, but his dad having a wife for the past few years was something  _ like _ that. 

Plus, Hannah taught him to braid Ava's hair when she first got old enough to want it done, and hair was a lot more complicated than Spot had expected. 

Spot crouched to let the girls off, and they ran to greet their waving grandparents. 

Spot didn't have to crouch very far for them to get down, a fact that would have annoyed him to no end were it not for the fact that he could carry everyone in the family at once, so height didn't matter. 

Even if Racetrack still called him short. 

("Showoff." "Race, I could just drop you on the floor." "Oh, no! A six inch fall! Ow, hey!")

"Sean!" 

Bryan's cheerful shout popped Spot out of his thought bubble. 

"Come wrangle your herd of monkeys away from us!"

Caroline and Ava giggled, grabbing hold of the man's arms and hugging, climbing, and in all other ways affectionately mobbing the man. 

"I don't know, Bryan." Spot smiled, taking his time walking over. 

"I think you'd make a pretty good zookeeper. You kept four kids and way too many animals alive for how many years?"

Bryan smiled, lifting Ava onto his shoulders easily. 

Denty, Dad, Bryan.

That man went by just about anything you might think of, and he did it with ease. 

Spot was more grateful for everything Bryan had done for him than he could ever hope to express. 

Caroline grabbed Spot's hand, dragging her dad into the house impatiently. 

"Come on, Daddy! We have to go get ready! I want Aunt Sarah to meet Stormy!"

Spot laughed, following his daughter obediently. 

"She's your  _ Doctor _ Aunt Sarah now, remember?" Spot teased, tickling Caroline's cheek with one of Ava's long braids, making both girls giggle and squeal indignantly. 

That was the purpose of this little party, Sarah had finally graduated with her veterinary medicine degree, was all licensed, and just had to find a place to work. 

Spot knew everyone joined him in hoping that place would be somewhere nearby. 

He convinced the girls to help him set the table rather than torment the cat, since it was going to take forever for everybody to get there anyway. 

Sarah lived a few hours away, unfortunately limiting her visits to one weekend a month. 

Hannah said that just made the visits all the more special, but Spot still wished she was a bit closer. 

And Racetrack, or Babbo, as the girls called him, was still at the high school for jazz band practice. 

He was a much better director than Weasel had ever been, and Spot would have wished he was  _ his  _ teacher, except for the fact that then their matching wedding bands would be seriously messed up. 

Bryan and Hannah came inside, carrying enough food that surely Racetrack's Nonna was smiling at them from heaven, or maybe hell where she'd probably insisted on going to make it a happier place and mother hen all the little devils and make good citizens out of them using the power of home cooking and kindness. 

(Racetrack's eulogy had not been well received by his extended family, but Spot knew Nonna would have been laughing her head off were she alive and not in a box)

"Hey everybody!" 

The door slammed, and in walked Les, carrying a large box that had suspicious-looking air holes. 

"Les, if you got Sarah something alive…" Bryan tried to use his Stern Dad Voice, but after Les started college, he'd by some miracle become immune to it. 

Spot had no idea how he managed that. 

"She's gonna love it," Les declared, setting the box on the floor. 

Bryan just sighed, and Spot really hoped whatever was in the box wouldn't pee on the carpet or upset the cats. 

Ugh, he'd turned into such a  _ housewife _ !

Finally Racetrack was home, and immediately greeted by squealing and hugging the second he walked in the door. Spot loved watching the tiredness float away as soon as his husband hugged their girls. It was like magic. 

"Something smells good," Racetrack commented, flinging one arm around Spot and the other around both Caroline and Ava at once. 

"You managed to start cooking without setting anything on fire?"

Spot sniffed indignantly. 

"That was one time. Just the spaghetti, and only once."

"And the marshmallows, Daddy!" Caroline piped up. Ava giggled.

"And the chicken!"

"The chicken wasn't  _ on fire _ ," Spot defended himself. 

"And why are you ganging up on me?"

Racetrack kissed Spot lightly on the cheek, bringing out exaggerated "eeeewwwww's" from Caroline and Ava, and sending them to the kitchen in disgust. 

Jack and David were late with their boys, but they were usually late. David was all apologies, Jack told a dumb joke, all was well.

Levi, Victor, and Terry immediately joined Caroline and Ava in "helping" the grandparents cook, and David continued to apologize until Spot told him to shut up. 

Now they just needed Sarah, and they'd have everybody. 

Eventually the food was ready, and it was getting late. Spot was just about to suggest leaving to make sure she hadn't broken down somewhere when he heard Sarah's unmistakable little pattern of knocks at the door. 

The kids raced to open it and greet their favorite and only aunt, dragging Sarah in to meet the new cat, see Terry's missing tooth, look how well Caroline can cartwheel now, and everything else important that she should know. 

"Sarah!" Les shouted over the din. 

Twenty five years old and he still acted like one of the little kids. 

"Hurry up and open my present for you before it opens itself!"

Sarah laughed. 

"Les, what did you do?"

Les grinned. "Look and see for yourself."

Sarah did just that, and Spot groaned, drowned out by the excited squealing of all the little kids, and Sarah. 

"Oh, Les! A rabbit? Really, Les, why?"

Les smiled proudly, reaching to pet the floppy eared little thing. 

"They were gonna use him in an experiment, so I got permission to snatch him up."

Sarah bristled. 

" _ What? _ "

"Affects of inbreeding or something. Can you believe that load of-"

"Okay!" Bryan loudly interrupted. 

"Les, this was really an inappropriate time to do that," Hannah lectured, but she reached out to pet the bunny's soft ears anyway.

"Let's find a place to put Sarah's new friend and then eat, shall we?"

David's suggestion was welcomed by everyone, especially the kids, who by now insisted they were absolutely starving. 

Spot leaned on Racetrack as they walked into the cramped little kitchen, rabbit stowed away in a quiet corner, cat carrier filled with some blankets and vegetables.

He couldn't help but smile at the noise and warmth and just how  _ nice _ things were. 

Sarah was talking about opening a practice right in town, Les had met a girl that he was sure was the greatest he'd ever met, Bryan, somewhat miraculously considering who his kids were, still didn't have all that many grey hairs. Not that Spot knew why that was a topic of discussion, but whatever. 

Everything was perfect. 

* * *

Later that night, as Racetrack climbed into bed, he couldn't keep a smile off his face. 

Everything was just great. Today had been perfect. 

"What're you smiling about, you dork?" Spot asked, pulling off his t-shirt as he walked in from putting the girls to bed. 

Race did bedtime on Mondays and Wednesdays, while Spot did Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Weekends, they did it together. It was a great system where they got special time with each girl, and also special time as a family. 

"I'm smiling because life is heaven," Racetrack declared, dragging Spot into the bed with him. 

He ran his fingers absently along Spot's chest, feeling the tiny bumps that were nearly invisible now, little scars from the hell Spot had gone through and still managed to come out an angel. 

Well. Maybe not an  _ angel _ angel, considering he still wanted to fight that homophobic piece of shit bus driver, but Spot was Race's angel, for sure. 

Over top of the surgical scar on Spot's belly was a little tattoo, a calico cat chasing after a feather.

Racetrack stroked the kitty's little inked ears, enjoying the way his husband sighed contentedly, snuggling into Racetrack's side like he'd always seemed to like doing.

Even though now his husband was built like a short version of The Rock, Racetrack still liked wrapping his entire self around Spot and making him feel safe and happy. 

Safe and happy. That had taken a long time and a lot of work to become their reality, but it was worth every second, every time Spot woke up a mess, needing Race to wrap his taller self around his husband to make a wall against the world. 

It was worth it a thousand times over when Racetrack saw Spot swing Caroline onto his broad shoulders for a ride, worth it when Spot spent afternoons painting Ava's and his own nails, then proudly wearing the chipped yet surprisingly tidy polish to work at the garage, judgemental coworkers and customers be damned. 

Racetrack snuggled Spot back, reaching up to click off their bedroom light, the soft sounds of Caroline and Ava getting fully settled the background to the best chapter of his life so far. 

Yes, it had taken a while, but every second of hell was worth it for the years of heaven they'd had and would have. For forever and always. 


End file.
